What a Week!

On Wednesday I finally got the Vespa tires replaced and some other maintenance done.  That afternoon it went on craigeslist in Asheville and Raleigh.  With 24 hours I had a good nibble.  It'll be tough to part with Lil V, as we've enjoyed over 9,000 miles together.  Plus, buying the little red Vespa was something I did to make me happy after L's passing and it has been like therapy for me on many occasions.  But it's time to move on. 

Since moving to Fletcher on August 24, I've read 4 1/2 novels, with 3 of them being over 600 pages.  Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy  are the best  and biggest.  They are so well written, it's hard to put them down.  One might say I've been obsessed with them.  I'm half way through the last one now, "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest", and will try to make it last.  Also, I saw the movie "The Girl Who Played With Fire", second in the series.  It was very well done and I'm looking forward to seeing "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo."  The plots are complicated and so are the characters, but Larsson's style makes them fairly easy to follow.

The Mountain State Fair opened yesterday and I had to drop in since it's only a couple of miles from here.  It was cool, overcast and hardly anyone there.  I was surprised at how large it is.  Of course it isn't as big as the State Fair in Raleigh, but it's very similar in many ways - crafts, exhibits, midway, food and shows.  I'll probably go back again today or tomorrow.  My favorite was the border collie demonstration.  It reminded me of Pancho and I know he would have been a champion at herding if I had trained him, and if I'd had something for him to herd.  They are wonderful creatures and watching them made me smile, a lot!

My time here is quickly coming to an end and I want to visit a few more relatives before I leave and see Marcia another time or two.  Yesterday I discovered why I'd been feeling kinda sad lately - it was 2 years ago yesterday that LaVerne called Hospice.  That was so hard and she was so brave.  At that time I never imagined I would feel so sad for so long.  But the healing continues and life goes on.  I'm much happier on the road than I would be in the house on Cranbrook, that's for sure. 

Winner of the kareoke competition!

I'm looking forward to going back to Jubilee tomorrow.  There was a party there last night to celebrate their 21 years and it was great!  There was a very good band, a highly talented MC and Jubilants singing and dancing, kareoke style.  It was great fun and I sang and danced and laughed a bunch!  A stroll through downtown Asheville afterward showed me what a vibrant place this has become.  It is so unlike the town I knew as a kid, yet I think it has probably been this vibrant at  other times in its' history.  It is my home and always will be. 

Thanks for stopping by!